Problem with the instrument panel

The instrument panel though seems a bit difficult to read, some of the batery meter bars are very dim, makeing it very dificult to see how much battery it really has.

Since I don't have one - I'm going by the pictures Mik has posted. The battery gauge looks like an LCD panel, is that correct?

What light conditions is this happening in? LCD panels tend to wash out in the sunlight. Is there a backlight?

David asked:

Since I don't have one - I'm going by the pictures Mik has posted. The battery gauge looks like an LCD panel, is that correct?

What light conditions is this happening in? LCD panels tend to wash out in the sunlight. Is there a backlight?

Yes, all LCD panels.

Back-lighting self-adjusts (2 levels I believe) according to ambient light conditions.

Battery indicator on my Vectrix can be hard to photograph from certain angles as the LCD's can be almost invisible, but they are very clear to read while riding.

Sometimes a few of the 17 Battery-LCD's are clear from a certain angle, whilst some are faint. See below picture as an example.

Here is a photo taken without flash to show the back-lit panel:

It is much harder to photograph than to see.

Mr. Mik

Wow again! Vectrix has great customer service. When I had a throttle issue in 8 days after reporting the problem there was a Vec-Tech, live in person, in my garage fixing my bike! How easy is that!?

Thanks for posting. I (and I assume a lot of people around here) are very interested what sort of range you are getting. Nik had some excellent, content-full posts about his experiences. The bottom line, though, was that the bike seemed to be getting about 1/2 the range claimed by Vectrix. It would be nice to know if this was an aberration.

MrEdLancelot wrote:

In term of range, yesterday I fully charged it at the office, went home (12.5 miles) came back this morning 12.5 miles and the estimated range says 12 miles remaining.

Hi Ed,

this might mean at least two things: You get 20km + 20km + 19.2km range if the EST RANGE is accurate.

If it however behaves like the EST RANGE on my (still broken) Vectrix, then EST RANGE 19.2 km basically means empty. You will not know until you try it out....

What is your approximate weight including luggage etc?
And what is your height?

How is that loan Vectrix going, or have you got your old one back already?

Mr. Mik

TangentStar wrote:

Wow again! Vectrix has great customer service. When I had a throttle issue in 8 days after reporting the problem there was a Vec-Tech, live in person, in my garage fixing my bike! How easy is that!?

What exactly was the throttle problem? And is it completely fixed, and how?

I count 7 Vectrix' (out of about 123 world-wide) on these forums at this stage, and at least 4 have had throttle problems, some severe.

A headcount of the Vectrix Owners on V forums today shows:

........................................................................................
funontwowheels 1st Vectrix in Scotland July 2007
1. Throttle sticking, difficulty engaging reverse had to replace the sensor.
2. Was given a charger software update, after which the charger promptly blew, however got a prompt repair and new charger which seemed to work okay.
3. Nearly KILLED my self when the throttle stuck in the fully open position, only remembered about the kill switch at the last minute ... a frightening experience. I managed to affect repair by resetting the throttle sensor, however I now feel VERY APPREHESIVE when riding my Vectrix, in case the same thing happens again.
4. Battery and temperature warning lights now flashing all the time, indicating a problem with battery temperature sensors, have been unable to use bike for weeks. I am currently waiting for the bike to be uplifted and repaired and to take delivery of a loan bike. Have missed a couple of opportunities to exhibit the bike because of this and potentially lost sales.

........................................................................................
Wolfgang 1st Vectrix in Austria, Aug 2007
2900km on 28-01-2008 very happy, no problems except a (single) sudden drop to zero in indicated range ................
.......................................................................
Mr. Mik 1st Vectrix in Queensland, Australia 11 Dec 2007
Total breakdown of bike at 1250km 15 Jan 2008
throttle problems (and other problems)
.......................................................................................
lavectrix since about 20-Dec-2007
experimented with headlight, not posting since then....
.....................................................................................
eyeinthesky tasmania (not posting here, but in contact with myself)
charger broke twice?
bike replaced
first bike had good range.
2nd bike dead at 1300km. low range on 2nd bike.
throttle problems.
........................................................................................

TangentStar

When I had a throttle issue in 8 days after reporting the problem there was a Vec-Tech, live in person, in my garage fixing my bike......

.........................................................................................
MrEdLancelot UK since about 09-01-2008
The instrument panel though seems a bit difficult to read

Bike picked up and loan bike given on 25-01-2008 to fix instrument panel.

.........................................................................................

Sorry in case I missed someone....

Mr. Mik

MY throttle problem:

As I understand it, some assemlby worker improperly attatched a clip to a wire, for use in the male/female connection housed near the thottle in what i shall call the 'handle bar cover.'

The conditions it failed under was a very cold night, ( I shouldn't have even been out but plans changed). And I rolled up to charge at a 'public terminal.' I remember doing two turn-to-lock steering motions to park it, one in each direction. Then the it failed soon after.

Apparently easy fix for tech, but then the reassembly cause problems, he couldn't get the throttle to set to were the sensor would read position correctly and to were the throttle wouldn't stick (the adjustment screw was too tight).
Then when he did the throttle clicked. Not sure how he solved the problems, but i got bored and the repair took about 3 hours.
Anyways the only down side is he left so scratches in the paint of the throttle housing, and light damage/scratched to the plastic of the handle bar cover....

Hope that clarifies...

TangentStar wrote:

MY throttle problem:

As I understand it, some assemlby worker improperly attatched a clip to a wire, for use in the male/female connection housed near the thottle in what i shall call the 'handle bar cover.'

The conditions it failed under was a very cold night, ( I shouldn't have even been out but plans changed). And I rolled up to charge at a 'public terminal.' I remember doing two turn-to-lock steering motions to park it, one in each direction. Then the it failed soon after.

Apparently easy fix for tech, but then the reassembly cause problems, he couldn't get the throttle to set to were the sensor would read position correctly and to were the throttle wouldn't stick (the adjustment screw was too tight).
Then when he did the throttle clicked. Not sure how he solved the problems, but i got bored and the repair took about 3 hours.

Thanks heaps for your explanation of the throttle problem.
Sounds like the cables were too short and stiff in the cold and one got pulled out.

This is quite funny.......the service guy should have read my first ever forum entry on 12-12-2007, because it contained exactly the explanation and fix for the reassembly problem: http://visforvoltage.org/forum/2206-vectrix-owners-new-amp-prospective#new

1)The "throttle" was sticky, it did not return to the neutral position after being turned backwards to accelerate. This was easily fixed by unscrewing the metal knob at the end of the throttle and then loosening the calibration screw anti-clockwise by 360 degrees. ADDED today: NEED TO LOOSEN SMALL LOCKING SCREW IN BIG SCREW FIRST!
After that the throttle needs to be calibrated like this:
A) turn Vectrix on.
B) turn kill switch on right handlebar to off.
C) pull left brake lever - speedo will show 43kmh if calibration is correct; pulling the right brake lever whilst the L brake lever is already pulled will make the speedo show the correct calibration of 43kmh irrespective of the actual calibration.
D) adjust calibration by turning the calibration screw in or out in small increments until speedo shows 43; it will then continue to show 43 when the right brake lever is also pressed. ADDED TODAY: NEED TO TIGHTEN SMALL LOCKING SCREW AGAIN!
E) replace the silver knob.
This should usually be done by a Vectrix service agent, if you have one handy....

Question for the Webmaster(s): Is there some way to add the locking screw issue to the original post?

And a few more questions for TangentStar:

What did your Vectrix still do with the throttle cable off?
Was the instrument panel lit? Headlights etc. still working?
Any warning lights on?
Able to be recharged?
Or was it totally dead?

A more detailed description might help others to diagnose any possible future problems.

Mr. Mik

Well the entire cable didn't fail but just an individual wire...
When it first occured the bike was on and working then dead. The fix it light, the wrench, came on, and the left LCD said "throtl"
I was 8 miles away from home so I parked it and came back with a truck a trialor next morning.
When the bike booted under this contidition, the boot was much longer, lights came on much slower, and just an abnormal boot up sequence. Then it says nothing, but the bike will not go into 'ready' or 'ready - go' mode.
So it was immobile.
I believe twice it booted properly, giving me false hope, and work normally momentarily. After put in 'R-Go' mode I the bike moved momentarily before the wire shorted out again.
I did recharge the bike in this condition when I got it home...
Hope that helped

Tangent

Well the entire cable didn't fail but just an individual wire...
When it first occured the bike was on and working then dead. ..................
I was 8 miles away from home so I parked it and came back with a truck a trialor next morning.

That is why I carry several kilos of locks and a chain on the Vectrix - in case I need to charge or leave it somewhere dodgy.

Thanks for the details, Tangent. It sure helps to know that the Vectrix can give some hint as to what is wrong.

Whatever failed on my Vectrix is of such a nature that it disabled the display along with everything else almost immediately. It just stopped working while I was driving along at 60km/h, then pulled the throttle a little bit to change lanes, but no acceleration occurred. The instrument panel was dark a few seconds later, then flickered once with all the telltales on, as if booting up, then nothing more.

Mr. Mik

Wow that would be strange and troubling while riding.
In regards to your 'reduceded power noise,' I just got off my bike from taking it up some of the steepest hills in town. Its these residential streets for a neighborhood pertched on a foothill. While the length of the hills isnt very long I subjected to bike to full throttle acceleration up these hills repeatedly and encountered nothing unexpected.
Even with continued max accel, at up to 40mph / ~65k/h I couldn't detect anything depicted in your video...
However speeds aren't quiet as fast, load is not as heavy, and duration is much shorter...

Questions always welcome!
Tangent

In regards to your 'reduceded power noise,' I just got off my bike from taking it up some of the steepest hills in town. Its these residential streets for a neighborhood pertched on a foothill. While the length of the hills isnt very long I subjected to bike to full throttle acceleration up these hills repeatedly and encountered nothing unexpected.
Even with continued max accel, at up to 40mph / ~65k/h I couldn't detect anything depicted in your video...
However speeds aren't quiet as fast, load is not as heavy, and duration is much shorter...
Tangent

Yes, same experience for me. Usually no problems at all on hills.

In fact, accelerating uphill was the most fun part of riding my Vectrix, coming out of tight turns at 40 to 60km/h up a mountain. All the grunt is available at that speed (unlike at lower speeds where it seems to have been reduced by software).
And it handles like a big sports bike, feels very safe, invites you to slide out of the saddle and take that turn a bit faster.

And the problem only ever happened after several minutes of almost full throttle continuously going uphill at about 60km/h. Only on Henry Roberts Drive, and only if there is no traffic, because most other vehicles will hold a Vectrix up! I believe that 60km/h is about where the engine has the highest energy output and consumption, and that it is much more demanding than going 100km/h on the flat continuously.

Mr. Mik